Stay
by Jess.91
Summary: He may have died, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be there when he was needed. One-shot.


Well I had the vague idea for a while, and wanted to get it used, somehow. The lyrics (italics) are taken from a My Chemical Romance song, which is so far untitled. Unofficially called "Stay" (or "Stay Awake") by the fanbase, though, which is why I wanted it in here. Not sure how well it fits, but it's a pretty great song.

Stay

Lily Luna Potter stormed into her dorm room, slammed the door behind her, and glared at the sole occupant of the room. The girl looked up, met her gaze, and jumped to her feet.

"I'll just...uh..." She darted out swiftly.

No one liked to be in the vicinity when Lily was angry. It was basic self-preservation to get as far away as possible.

And Lily was alone, which was exactly what she wanted.

_Would you cast yourself so solitary?_

Lily stormed over to her bed, threw herself on top, laid on her back.

She would not think about the stupid jerk. She would _not_. She was done at being mad and upset and having this pathetically stupid crush on him. Lily Potter did not deal in crushes, especially not ones on stupid seventh year Slytherins who still thought of her as some little kid.

She made a loud sound, somewhere between a growl and a scream. The idiot still thought of her as a child! As Al's little sister. How dare he, how dare he interfere when she had everything under control? How dare he come rushing up the corridor – as if she'd needed _saving_ – and tell that big stupid guy to leave her alone.

"She's just a kid." He'd said angrily.

A kid! As if – she was sixteen! A fifth year! This time next year she'd be of age – in a couple of years she wouldn't even be at Hogwarts anymore! A kid! Well, if that's the way he thought, he wasn't worth her time.

"You do not like Scorpius Malfoy." Lily said aloud. "You do not like him at all."

"That's not gonna work."

The voice was familiar, even though she hadn't ever _actually_ heard it before. Not, she'd just imagined she had. Still, she sat up, faced the figure leaning again the post of the bed next to hers.

"You know, I'd pretty much convinced myself you were a product of stress, tiredness and an over-active imagination. Now I'm seriously doubting my mental health." She sighed, flopped back down. "Go away before they lock me up."

_And would you stay right here?  
When I tell you,  
That someone out there loves you.  
Would you stay right here?  
Well I'd tell you,  
That someone out there loves you after all._

He laughed, exactly like Uncle George did. Which, of course, was the reason it seemed so real. She subconsciously based this image of her long-dead Uncle on the twin he'd left behind.

"I told you last time, I wouldn't be here if you didn't need me." He told her. "But it's OK, take a minute or two to accept that I'm actually here."

"You're not here." Lily aid flatly. "You're not real. I'm just slowly losing it, that's all."

"Mmm-hmm. So, what did Scorpius do?" He asked, moving to sit on the bed he'd been leaning against.

"What makes you think he did anything?"

"'Cause you're mad at him. And you don't usually get mad without a reason."

Lily tried not to answer. To just ignore him until he faded away. But she couldn't. She never had been able to, not since the first time he ever appeared to her.

She'd been eight, she remembered. And lost. She'd wondered away in Diagon Alley, bored with shopping – she didn't want to watch James buy his robes, she didn't want him to go to Hogwarts. So she'd wondered away, planning to find the store. Uncle Ron was her favourite uncle, and Uncle George was her second favourite, therefore the WWW was one of her favourite places. She knew if she could find it, they'd give her ice-cream and let her play with some of the stuff. And then she wouldn't feel sad about James going to off to Hogwarts.

But there were so many people, and she'd suddenly realised she had no idea where she was. No idea how to get to the shop, or back to her family. No idea what to do. She'd been close to tears when he'd appeared.

She'd seen pictures. Lots of pictures, and so she recognised him straight away. He knelt down in front of her, looked at her kindly.

"Hey." He said quietly, while she looked at him, stunned. "Don't get upset."

"But I'm lost." She told him, then her eyes had narrowed. "Who are you?"

He smiled brightly. "Your Uncle Fred."

"He's dead." She said flatly. "You can't be him." He titled his head, lifted an eyebrow.

"Why not? Just because I'm dead, it doesn't mean I can help out when I'm needed." He lowered his voice to a whisper, making her feel like they were sharing a secret. "When your mother was really little, I promised her I'd always be there when she needed me. Well, she's a grown up now, and she doesn't need me anymore – but I bet you will." He offered her another smile. "Now, I think we should hget you back to your parents, shouldn't we? Come on, it's this way."

He'd straightened up, put a hand on her shoulder and guided her. Before she'd known it, she was back outside Madam Malkins. "Thanks!" She'd cried happily, and ran inside the shop.

Everyone had told her she must have imagined Uncle Fred, and when she forced the issue they'd all looked nervous and sad. So she stopped talking about it.

_Sometimes it's though it's easier to fall._

The night before she left for Hogwarts for the first time, she'd been scared, and he'd suddenly been in her room, telling her it'd be OK, and not to be nervous. When she'd stood, waiting for her sorting, he'd been stood at the far end of the hall, and had waved at her. She'd felt reassured, and had almost relaxed.

He'd come to her a handful of times since then, but not for over a year now. Time enough to convince herself it had all been in her head, caused by loneliness and a desperation to meet the uncle she'd heard so much about.

"I'd really thought I was over this." She said.

"Over what? Scorpius?"

"No. Over whatever mental problem it is that makes me think some dead guy keeps visiting me."

He laughed again. "You think too much. Stop trying to analyse and find logic in this. Come on, what did the kid do?"

With a sigh, she explained.

"Huh. You know, Lily, he is two years older than you."

"I know."

"So maybe you should just give up on him."

"I know that, too." She said shortly. "I have done."

"No, you haven't." He sighed, groaned a little. "Lily...I really can't give you boy-advice, OK?"

She laughed, propped herself up on her elbow to look at him. "Because you're dead or because you're my uncle?"

"The second one." He said. "Boy trouble isn't my area of expertise."

She smirked at that. "So why did you come here if you can't help?"

"Because you needed me to." Fred shrugged. "I'll go if you want."

She rolled her eyes, because they both knew she wouldn't really send him away.

"No." She said quietly, trying to act as if she didn't care either way. "Stay."

_And if you stay right here,  
When I tell you,  
That someone out there loves you.  
Stay right here,  
Keep attacking you,  
That someone out there loves you._

She didn't care if he was real or not. It didn't matter to her. Just so long as he stayed while she needed him.


End file.
